Chilliwack hockey stars skate with B.C.’s best

Chilliwack has three skaters in Penticton this weekend for B.C. Hockey’s Male U-15 Provincial camp.

Defenceman Mitchell Metcalfe, forward Clay Kurtz and goaltender Brayden Melnyk are among 160 players invited based on their performance at regional camps.

This camp started Thursday at the South Okanagan Events Centre, with the players split up into eight teams.

Metcalfe is playing for Team Black while Melnyk and Kurtz skate for Team Blue.

Players who shine in the tournament may receive invites to the Male U-16 Provincial Camp, taking place July 11-16 in Shawnigan Lake.

All of this is part of the B.C. Hockey Male Program of Excellence, which was launched in 1980 to “to systematically identify and train the province’s elite-level players for high performance hockey events.

The overall objective of the program is to increase the chances of athletes from B.C. to compete provincially, regionally, nationally and internationally with the ultimate goal being selected to Hockey Canada’s national junior or national senior teams.”